Worth Waiting For
by helpthehorriblelovethelonely
Summary: Soul-marks were a gift from mother magic to help a witch or wizard find that one person who completed them, given once both mates had turned 17. Some people, however, didn't have soul-marks, and instead were whole all on their own. Lucius was one of those people, except he didn't feel whole. Lucius Malfoy didn't have a Soul-mark, until one day, he did.


Everyone knew that when a witch or wizard turned 17, they would either wake up with a soul mark, or one would appear on their soulmates 17th birthday. Soul marks were a gift from mother magic to help you find the one person who completed you. Of course, some people didn't have a soul mark, they were whole all on their own.

Lucius Malfoy thought he was one of those people, destined to be without a soul mark because they were whole already. But Lucius didn't feel whole, he often wondered bitterly why he had been forgotten about. He had married and had a child, as he was expected to do. His wife also didn't have a soul mark, but the two of them were different, his wife was completely fine being alone, completely okay with knowing there was no one out there for her, Lucius wasn't.

It was the summer before his sons 7th year, the dark lord had been destroyed, Lucius was enjoying the serenity of the silence. He was in his office working late when it happened, he felt a burning in his wrist as if he was being branded. He hissed, it hurt so bad he couldn't move his arm. When the pain finally subsided Lucius looked down at his wrist, and he nearly fainted.

Lucius Malfoy didn't have a soul mark, until one day, he did.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry Potter lay in bed at the burrow the night before his 17th birthday, excited about not only coming of age, but coming of age and hopefully receiving his soul mark. Most of the Weasleys thought they knew he wasn't going to have one immediately, as Ginny didn't turn 17 until november, but Harry knew that it wouldn't be Ginny, or any girl for that matter.

Harry was up late thinking again, about all the things that happened in his last year of Hogwarts. Some of the most notable being Harry's alliance with Draco Malfoy and defeating the dark lord only moments after Dumbledore had fallen from the astronomy tower. His friendship with the Slytherin was the only reason they had been able to defeat the evil bastard so soon, he knew, and he couldn't thank the blonde enough for that.

He also thought about how Ron and Hermione finally admitted their feelings for each other after the battle was over, Ron didn't have a soul mark at that point even if he was 17, but when Hermione turned 17, they both got their soul marks, matching golden fox tattoos on their wrists. Harry smiled at the memory.

He's brought out of his thoughts by a burning sensation on his arm, it felt like he was placing his wrist on a hot burner, which it had been on before, and it hurt like Hell. His arm clenched up and he hissed in pain, trying not to wake Ron up. No wonder the Weasleys had all told him to be asleep before midnight, dealing with this awake was a nightmare.

When the pain finally subsided Harry looked down at his wrist, nervous about what he would find. Soul marks could be anything really, words, letters, symbols, images, whatever it was though, your soulmate had the same thing on their wrist.

Harry looked down and steeled himself for what he would find, the words written in a deep, rich purple color stood out against his skin, "unexpected, but welcome".

Harry's brows furrowed, what was that supposed to mean? He shook his head a little and ran his finger over the cursive, Ron had told him that when you touched your soul mark your mate could feel it, he wondered if that was true.

Harry went to bed then, his wrist still throbbing from the mark, he fell asleep with a smile on his face, knowing that there was somebody out there for him.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Draco Malfoy found his father laying on the couch in their sitting room, except he wasn't just sitting, he was laying, spread out in a haphazard manner as if he hadn't even noticed what exactly he was laying on. Draco looked and saw a half empty bottle of wine at the foot of the couch, he looked mildly worried, his father almost never drank. "Um, father, are you alright?"

Lucius' eyes shot open and he lifted his head up to look at him, Draco could tell he was at least tipsy.

"Draco," Lucius grinned, laying his head back on the couch with a softened thud. "How are you today?" Draco went up to him and raised his eyebrows,

"I am doing well father, and yourself?" He was trying not to laugh at his father's goofy yet distressed look on his face,

"You remember me and your mother telling you about how we didn't have soul marks?" Lucius wasn't drunk enough for his words to start slurring, thankfully.

"Yes father, of course I remember," Draco frowned, they had been worried he wouldn't get a mark, being born from two parents who were mate-less, but Draco had woken up with his mark a few days prior, where was Lucius going with this?

Draco looked affronted as his father started laughing, he went again to ask if he was okay, but Lucius just held out his wrist towards him, when Draco saw the writing, he stepped closer and grabbed the appendage. On his father's wrist was "unexpected, but welcome" written in a dark purple with a delicate cursive.

Draco couldn't help but laugh as well, leave it to his father to finally receive a soul mark 20 years after he turned 17.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Ron hadn't been lying about your soulmate being able to feel when you were touching your mark. The first time Harry felt it was 2 weeks after his birthday, he was in Diagon alley with the Weasleys shopping for their school supplies. He was in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes when he felt the soft touch, he had jumped and yanked his arm away, but nobody had grabbed him. He looked down confused and realized it was his marked arm, warmth seemed to blossom from the center of the writing. Harry smiled softly and traced the letters with his finger, he was brought out of his musings by somebody calling his name.

"Harry!" it was Hermione, who at this point grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "I've been trying to get your attention for 5 minutes what is so important-" she stopped when she saw him tracing the letters of his mark and smiled softly. "Did you feel it?" she asked and when Harry nodded, she just shook her head and pulled him back over to the door, where the group was starting to leave.

They walked into flourish and blots and Harry noticed the Malfoys, he felt a weird feeling tug at his chest, and then a sharp sensation when he refused to follow the tug. Harry waved at them with a smile, before turning back to his group of redheads. He noticed himself absentmindedly tracing the words on his wrist, and he wondered just who would be unexpected, but welcome.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Lucius had gone with Draco to do his school shopping, Draco didn't need Lucius to go with him, but it was a tradition they had had sense the summer before his first year, they went shopping for his school supplies, they went to get dinner, and then they went to get ice cream or other sweets together. It was their thing.

Lucius had tried to ignore the mark on his wrist, not because he didn't want to find his soulmate, but because if he didn't ignore it, he would spend all day looking at it. His robes pretty much covered his wrists though, so it wasn't too bad. They were in madam Malkins robe shop, they both needed new dress robes and just casual robes. Lucius went first to get measured, when he was done, he stepped down and Draco was up next. Something, although he didn't know what, brought his attention to his mark, he smiled down at it. He ran his fingers over the words, just kind of marveling at the fact they were there. He jumped a little when he felt something returning the touch, and warmth spread through his body stemming from his wrist, he tried not to act like a love stricken teenager, but it was hard to do.

Draco watched his father rubbing his mark and he couldn't help but smile, it was something he did himself, just to help ease his nerves. He always felt a touch back nowadays, and sometimes the touch was there before he even initiated it, it made him feel loved. He could only imagine how his father was feeling. They left the robe shop and went into the bookstore; they were there for only a few minutes when a gaggle of redheads followed by a brown haired girl and a raven haired boy walked into the store.

Lucius and Draco looked up at the same time to see Harry Potter looking at them, he gave them a smile and a wave before going back to the redheads. Draco had waved back, but he was gone before Lucius could come to his senses and respond. There was a tight feeling in his chest, like a pulling, and then when he didn't follow it, it felt like someone was cutting into him. His hand went to his chest and held it there for a moment, Draco looked at him with an odd expression. "father are you okay?" he asked a little worried.

"Yes, Draco, just…" Lucius didn't know how to explain it, it just hurt. Draco must have understood because his face softened, he wanted to tell his father that meant that his soulmate was near, but he didn't think them finding each other in a crowded bookstore would be a good idea. They bought their things and left rather quickly.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry was sitting in the train compartment with Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ginny as they rode back to Hogwarts for the last time. Harry felt bittersweet about the experience but tried not to show it. They had only been on the train for an hour or so before the compartment door opened, Harry looked up and smiled when he saw Draco standing in the threshold,

"Hey Draco, did you have a good summer?" Harry asked pleasantly, moving over a bit so the blonde could sit with them.

Draco smiled and nodded, going to sit next to him, the others in the compartment all greeted him pleasantly before going back to their own conversations.

"Your birthday was in June, right? Did you get your mark? What about you, Nev?" Harry asked, Neville turned to the two of them, joining in on the conversation,

"I woke up with my mark on my birthday," Neville smiled, reaching down to rub his mark with his thumb, Harry looked over when he felt Draco start slightly, his hand flew to his own wrist and he blushed deeply. Harry only grinned, noticing the instantaneous reaction.

"I-I…" Draco stammered, "I got mine at the end of the July," he mumbled, glancing up at both the boys in front of him, who both were born at the end of July, his eyes landed on Neville and their eyes met. Something happened between them and Neville stood, Harry ducked out of the way and basically traded seats with Neville. The Gryffindor asked, "May I?" pointing towards Draco's arm, Draco just nodded.

Neville lifted up the robe sleeve and smiled before leaning down and kissing the blonde sweetly. Harry smiled as a glow around them appeared, and when Neville pulled away Draco looked a little out of it, but his smile was huge. "what are they?" Harry asked after long enough time had passed and the two were cuddling,

"Oh!" Neville laughed, rolling up his sleeve. In a bright moss colored green, was a cluster of leaves. Harry just grinned at them.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

The next time the marks were brought up almost two months had passed. Harry was sitting in the common room doing his homework when Neville came in pulling Draco behind him, Harry waved at them and the two came over and sat on the couch across from him. It was often that you could find Draco sitting in the Gryffindor common rooms somewhere, he followed wherever his lion went for the most part.

"Hey Neville, Draco," Harry greeted with a smile, they chorused a hello and Draco leaned into Neville's side. "I can't wait until that's me," Harry said fondly, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Oh, don't worry Harry, I'm sure you'll get your mark soon, I mean, Ginny turns 17 next month, doesn't she?" Neville asked, Harry gave him a funny look,

"I already have my mark, it's not Ginny," he said flatly, everyone assuming Ginny was his soulmate was getting on his nerves. Harry's hand stopped writing and he unconsciously brought it down to run his fingers over the mark.

Neville winced, "Sorry, mate," he apologized, Draco hummed from his place on the couch,

"Can we see what it is?" he asked, eyeing his wrist curiously. Harry just chuckled and pulled up the sleeve of his uniform to show them,

"well, that's an interesting one," Neville smiled, not noticing the way Draco stared at it for a few seconds too long.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Draco had followed his love into the Gryffindor common rooms, they were planning on doing charms homework together upstairs, but they were beckoned over by Harry and he smiled.

They went over and sat down, Draco assumed his position of leaning into Neville's side while Neville wrapped an arm around him. He heard Harry say he couldn't wait until it was him in their position.

"Oh, don't worry Harry, I'm sure you'll get your mark soon, I mean, Ginny turns 17 next month, doesn't she?" Neville asked his friend with a smile, Draco watched as annoyance flash across Harry's face before he schooled it down back to a calm state.

"I already have my mark, it's not Ginny," Harry's tone was flat and almost cold, Draco could feel his boyfriend wince from beside him, that had been a bad thing to say.

Neville apologized and Harry inclined his head to acknowledge the apology, "can we see what it is?" Draco asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Harry chuckled at him and then rolled his sleeve up, turning his wrist so they could read it.

Draco read the words 'unexpected, but welcome' and his eyes widened just a hair, he had to double check with his father and make sure that was what his said, but Draco was at least 98% positive that Harry Potter, Savior of the wizarding world, was his father's soulmate.

That night Draco found himself back in his dorm room penning a letter to his father,

"**Dear father, **

** I know I wrote just last week but I have an important question, exactly how are the words on your soul mark written? If you can hold off questions for now, I would appreciate it.**

** Thanks,**

** Draco."**

Draco sent the letter off with a school owl the next morning, that night he got a response.

"**Draco,**

** Never apologize for writing. My mark says " unexpected, but welcome ". **

** Love always,**

** Your father." **

Draco read the short letter more than once, just making sure it matched up with Harry's mark entirely. it did.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

A few weeks later Harry was walking down the halls with a hum, someone reached out from an abandoned classroom and grabbed his robes, tugging him inside the room. He was about to protest or fight, but when he saw Draco standing there he relaxed. "Jesus Draco! You could have just asked me to join you," he put his hands on his hips and glared at him.

"I know I know I'm sorry!" Draco said, running a hand through his hair. "I just… have something important to tell you,"

"What is it?" Harry asked, he hopped up on a desk to sit, Draco followed his lead and sat on one next to him, they turned to face each other.

"Okay, you can't get mad,"

"Draco, what did you do?" Harry looked at him cautiously.

"Nothing! Well I mean, something! But that's not what I have to tell you!" He rambled before finally spitting out "I know who your soulmate is!"

Harry's eyes widened, his fingers went to run across the mark on his wrist, he hardly noticed he did it. He relaxed just a bit when he felt the touch returned in a soothing manner. "You… you know… who my soulmate is?" he whispered, that weird tugging in his chest again.

"Yeah, I do, and I uh, he may be in the castle right this moment?" Draco said, not knowing how he was going to react to that.

"My soulmate… is in the castle… at this very second," Harry said slowly, he knew Draco wasn't talking about a student, because the pull in his chest hadn't acted up since they were in Diagon. In Diagon, when he walked into the bookstore, where Draco stood with his father. In the bookstore, when the pull tried to tug him in their direction.

"He… he's been waiting for his mark for this long?" Harry suddenly whispered, horror spreading across his face. He pressed down on his mark momentarily, not knowing why but feeling like he needed to send as much warmth and love to the man as possible.

Draco nodded, "I see you have figured it out, I found him in the Livingroom at the manor sprawled across the couch, wine drunk, on your 17th birthday. My mother also doesn't have a mark, but she is whole, always has been. Father wasn't, as it turns out. He has been so excited to know that he has a soulmate."

Harry suddenly stood, "Where is he?" he asked, almost running towards the classroom door. Draco grabbed him by the back of his robes and tugged him back,

"Potter, one thing before you go, if you hurt him, I swear to god I will-" he was cut off when a slightly frantic Harry turned to him,

"Where is he?" he asked again, this time sounding more desperate. Draco let go of the back of his robes "room of require-" he couldn't even finish the sentence before Harry was gone.

Harry sprinted down the corridors, he was already on the seventh floor, he just had to find his way to the room. The more he ran, the more the pull in his chest hurt, the closer he needed to be. When he got to where the tapestry should have been, he saw blank stone wall, and he almost panicked. Harry walked up to the wall and placed the palm of his hand on the stone, suddenly he was in the room.

After telling him what his mark said, Draco practically begged Lucius to come to Hogwarts. He had been hesitant at first, but at the look in Draco's eyes when he had seen him and the way he was speaking in his letters, he knew he was going to end up at Hogwarts one way, willingly or not.

He now sat in the room of requirement; he was sitting on a comfy sofa that the room had provided for him. He hummed softly as he waited, Draco hadn't told him what was going on, he had just sat him in the room and told him to wait, so wait he did.

Lucius waited for only about half an hour when he heard someone walking behind him, he assumed it was Draco, so he didn't bother turning around. He was at Hogwarts, and he could feel the pull of his mate and he just wanted to leave and go find them, he started a bit when someone sat down next to him that was too short to be his son. He looked over and saw Harry Potter staring back at him, Lucius looked very confused for a moment before he realized that the pull in his chest had just about faded completely, this time not because his soulmate was far, but because they were near.

They sat and stared at each other for a while, finally Lucius lifted his hand up and cupped Harry's cheek, the other closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. "Are you upset?" Harry asked quietly, a sad tone in his voice. He didn't open his eyes as he spoke, just savoring the moment, "That you waited so long to find your soulmate and you end up stuck with me?"

When Harry sat down next to Lucius everything felt right. The pulling in his chest had almost faded to nothing, he was able to breathe just a little bit better. Harry sat there for a while, just looking up at the blonde in front of him, at his soulmate, he couldn't help both the love and sadness that flooded him. Harry was just 17, barely an adult, Lucius had spent his whole life waiting to get a mark and what does he get? Harry bloody Potter at the end of it. Lucius cupped his cheek and Harry leaned into his hand, closing his eyes as warmth spread through him.

"Are you upset?" he asked, sounding sadder than he had intended. What if Lucius didn't want him? he felt it was more of a possibility than not, who would want him, anyway? "That you waited so long to find your soulmate and you end up stuck with me?" he finished speaking, tears stung at his eyes.

There was silence again, for a short while, when Harry opened his eyes Lucius just smiled at him before leaning down to kiss him softly.

Harry gasped, it felt like there were fireworks going off in his chest, he knew that if he hadn't closed his eyes again that they would have a glow around them, just like the others did when they first kissed their soulmate. His shaky hands gripped at the man's robes to keep himself steady. When Lucius pulled away, Harry was blushing furiously, this made Lucius laugh softly. He pulled the Gryffindor into his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Lucius heard Harry's question and he felt a stab through his heart, his soulmate didn't think he was worthy? He thought Lucius would be let down? He stayed silent and waited for Harry to open his eyes again, when he did, he just smiled at him before leaning down and kissing him with a softness Lucius didn't know he could possess. He had been cold and empty feeling for so long, but that wasn't the case with Harry next to him.

When they pulled away Lucius laughed softly at the blush on his mate's face. He gently picked him up and put him in his lap, snaking his arms around the other.

"You, my Harry, are an unexpected surprise, but you are a welcomed one," he kissed his forehead. Harry's face lit up and he just kissed him again. Lucius only had one thought as he pulled his soulmate closer,

This was worth waiting for.


End file.
